14 August 2012

Gospel Fellowship

'Before
certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles, but when they
came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party' (Gal
2:12).

Fellowship broke.

Now how does Paul handle this? Certainly, he rebukes Peter—'I opposed him to
his face' (2:11).

Yet how does Paul do this? What is his diagnosis?

Paul identifies Peter’s error as gospel error. 'I saw that their conduct
was not in step with the truth of the gospel' (2:14). What was Peter’s
mistake? Gospel leakage.

But in what way was Peter's heart leaking out gospel? How specifically was he not believing the
gospel?

The text tells us: 'fearing the circumcision party' (2:12). Fear. That was what drove Peter.

To sum up: Paul says Peter feared other men, causing him to not walk in step with the gospel, causing him to introduce all kinds of dysfunction into his relationships with other people.

I conclude: the gospel liberates us not
only from fear of the judgment of God in the future but also from fear of the judgment of men in the present. By Galatians 2 Paul had
already learned this (Gal 1:10). Peter had not.

In Christ we are already in. The craving to be
judged positively, welcomed in, affirmed by another, brought inside—at bottom,
the craving to be justified—has been
met. Secured vertical in-ness empties the need for elusive horizontal in-ness. Justification by faith alone breathes health and calm and quiet into our relationships. Remember, it is on the immediate heels of this passage, about a horizontal conflict, that Paul pens the most famous words in all the Bible on
justification by faith (Gal 2:16).

As others on here, really appreciated this. It made me think of CS Lewis' address to students, "The Inner Ring," about the quest for acceptance by men. Teaser quote..."Of all the passions, the passion for the Inner Ring is most skillful in making a man who is not yet a very bad man do very bad things."While we might not agree with his final conclusion, it's a good insight into this fundamental fear of man that grace ultimately destroys.

The Gospel. Period.

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A human being. Living with my dear wife and four delightful offspring in Wheaton, Illinois. Senior VP for Bible Publishing at Crossway. More messed up than this blog will let on. I live (2 Cor 5:15) to delight in (Ps 37:4) and display (1 Tim 1:16) the glory (Rom 15:8-9) of the grace (Eph 1:6) of God in Christ (Col 1:15). Saddle up.

My Portion

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust--there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults. For the LORD will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.--Lamentations 3:24-32

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